


last hope

by pendules



Series: redemption [4]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: M/M, Post-Wrestlemania 33
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 07:28:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10589283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pendules/pseuds/pendules
Summary: They skip the afterparty and end up in some dive bar at 2am after 'Mania where no one recognises them.





	

**Author's Note:**

> [Paramore's Last Hope](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBatuRGZAmA) has kind of become the soundtrack of this series.

They skip the afterparty and end up in some dive bar at 2am after 'Mania where no one recognises them. Not that there's many people left at that hour. And the few stragglers are in no condition to be asking for autographs anyway.

Dean tosses a few hundreds at the barkeep to keep the place open until they're ready to go back to the hotel and to provide them with a steady flow of beer until that time arrives.

There's still an ice pack on his swollen knee and he's content to just lean back on his stool and look at Dean. He doesn't think he'd mind too much if they just stayed right here in this moment forever.

The buzz and the exhilaration and the adrenaline's worn off, but they haven't been replaced with numbness — now there's just absolute _calm_ with a slight undercurrent of exhaustion. His knee hurts and he has aches and bruises all over his body but he can't seem to feel any of it right now. It feels like he can truly _breathe_ for the first time in years and years.

"Think they're missing us?" Dean asks, taking a sip of beer.

Seth shrugs nonchalantly. He doesn't care either way. There was only one person he wanted to see after the match and after the trainers had checked him out — and then Dean was _there_ and he practically melted into his arms, Dean's hands on the sides of his face as he brushed kisses to his forehead, then his cheekbone, then his mouth. He couldn't hold back the tears of utter relief if he wanted to.

"You talked to Roman?"

"Yeah," Dean says. "Said he'd check in after the family left."

Seth nods. "Think everyone knows by now?"

Dean shrugs this time. "You know how gossip spreads around these parts."

Seth doesn't actually care who knows. Well, except for the people he actually does care about.

"I told my mom about you — about _us_ , I mean," Seth blurts out, feeling like a stupid, giddy sixteen-year-old kid again.

"Oh, yeah?" Dean looks almost perturbed by the notion.

"She said she's happy. She said she's always liked you."

"Sure she wasn't thinking about someone else?" Dean says dryly.

Seth rolls his eyes fondly. "Stop being all self-deprecating. You know you're a mother's dream." He's not even being facetious, is the thing. Dean's weirdly popular with everyone's moms. Probably because he's a shameless flirt and charming bastard, especially after he's had a few.

"Hell yeah, I am," he says with a shit-eating grin.

"You know you're a catch, right?" Seth says, not quite managing the teasing tone he was going for.

"Of course I do," Dean says, preening.

"You know you're too good for me, right?" he says, as blunt as anything now. He can't blame the alcohol for this honesty; he can't mix booze and pain pills. But it's been a hell of a night. Cathartic. Historic, even. Important enough to drop every defense he's ever put up.

"Wait — _what_?" Dean says, putting his beer down and staring at him, confused.

"You know you deserve better, right? You deserve _everything_." He refuses to start tearing up again, damn it, but it's a close call.

"Shut up," Dean exhales, at once, dismissive.

"I mean it —"

" _Shut up_ ," Dean says again, harsher, almost a growl. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't — if you weren't —"

"Are you sure, though?" Seth cuts in sharply. 

"Why — Why are you asking me this?" Dean says, eyes narrowed pointedly at him. "Why the fuck would you kiss me in the first place if you thought that?"

Seth laughs derisively. "I'm a selfish asshole. More news at eleven."

Dean just looks somber now. He shakes his head. "What you just did tonight wasn't selfish."

"I didn't do it for _you_ , either." 

"No, but you didn't have to. You did it because it was the right thing."

"Still doesn't take away what I did. To you. To us."

Dean reaches out and grazes his fingertips over Seth's cheek. Seth closes his eyes, takes in a long, shuddering breath. And it _hurts_ , more than any torn ligaments or fractured bones could, how gentle Dean is with him, even after everything.

Dean just looks him in the eyes when he opens them. "No, it doesn't," he says firmly. "But it gives us a chance. For the future."

"Is that what you really want?" Seth asks breathlessly.

"I just want this," Dean says, hushed. "Just want _you_."

Seth carefully takes Dean's hand in his own, brings it to his mouth and presses a kiss to his knuckles. He hopes it feels like gratitude. It's the only thing he has in him to give right now. He hopes it's enough.

They stay like that, hands entangled in Seth's lap, mostly in silence, but occasionally catching each other's eye, trading a smile or a joke. This is how it should be — how it used to be, side-by-side in joints just like this all over the country, all over the world, just being with each other. In sync. Always attuned to each other's body and mood and rhythm.

Roman shows up after an hour, fist-bumps Dean before he wanders across the bar to fuck with the jukebox, then sits down on Seth's other side.

The last time they were alone together was in the locker room a couple weeks ago with Roman asking about his knee and Seth being as vague as possible and Roman not buying any of his bullshit for a second. "Think about the rest of your life," he'd said before leaving, not understanding that there would be no living with _himself_ if he didn't do this.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, Roman nursing his beer, his presence alone as steady and calming as it always is.

"Take care of him, alright?" is all he says eventually.

Seth looks across at him and nods. It feels like an oath. Feels like something precious being entrusted to him. And he'd rather die than lose it.

"I'm never going to give this up again," he tells him.

"I don't just mean — You know Dean. He doesn't feel things like normal people do. Everything's way intense with him."

They've always known that. And they both want to protect that. Dean's always been the heart of all of this. It's why he probably deserves better than Seth. It's why he'll try every single day from now on to be worthy of Dean's love, as long as he wants him.

"I know. That's why I was scared of this in the first place. I didn't know if I could live up to that, you know? Turns out I was right," he finishes with an ironic smile.

"I think you were too scared to even give yourself the chance to find out," Roman says knowingly.

And he's right. It was better, cleaner, to just tear it all down before it inevitably got fucked-up. In hindsight, Seth's always been a master of self-sabotage, of creating his own downfall. Always on his terms and not anyone else's. _Love is weakness._ Hunter's voice in his head, silenced for good now.

"I don't want to be scared anymore," Seth admits, more to himself than anything.

"Dean's the bravest person I've ever known," Roman says earnestly. "So be brave for him too, okay?"

Seth exhales, then nods. "Promise."

A song comes on then that instantly transports him back to another night years ago, one of those countless, endless nights spent basking in victory and glory and each other, hoping it would last forever but knowing that even if it didn't, at least they had this, at least it was _theirs_ for a time. And that was enough. It actually doesn't feel so far away from tonight.

Dean takes his spot next to them, clinks glasses with Roman, puts an arm around Seth's shoulders. "Great night, fellas. Now on to the next chapter."


End file.
